Above Average Pittsburgh Pirates Blog

Chris Stewart Leaves Game with Left Groin Discomfort

Pirates catcher Chris Stewart left Friday’s game after injuring his left groin. The team announced that he has been listed as “day-to-day”.

The Pirates took on the Tampa Bay Rays in Bradenton, and were victorious by a score of 4-0. Stewart started behind the plate and batted eighth. He contributed to one of the four runs, as he delivered a RBI single off Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez in the fourth inning. In his next at-bat, Stewart struckout and appeared to have hurt the groin afterwards. He was replaced by Jackson Williams the following inning.

Stewart battled knee problems for much of the 2016 season. The 35-year-old backstop played in only 34 games with the Pirates, as he posted a .604 OPS. He hit one home run, which was his first since the 2013 campaign when he was playing for the New York Yankees. Stewart enters 2017 in his third season as the backup catcher to Francisco Cervelli.